Sunday, April 8, 2018

The Pentagon announced on Thursday it was standing up a new cell to support President Trump’s activation of National Guard troops along the U.S. border with Mexico.

“This is not business as usual. The cell will last for the foreseeable future to make sure we surge our capacity to meet the president’s enhanced border security goals,” said Pentagon Chief Spokesperson Dana White.

The establishment of the cell comes after President Trump announced on Thursday he was activating the National Guard to support border security along the U.S. border with Mexico.

White said the cell would be led by Ken Rapuano, assistant secretary of Defense for homeland defense and global security, and be staffed with Defense Department policy staff and military officials from the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

She said the cell will be “24/7” and will be the conduit between the Pentagon and the Department of Homeland Security as the two departments work together on border security.

Officials said DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielson was currently meeting with the governors of the states along the border, and would let the Pentagon know what was required, via the new cell.